What would you do at Magic Kingdom on December 30th?

[otten]

We're planning on one day at MK Dec 30th before going to visit family in northern Florida. We'll be back at WDW a week later and plan on doing more traditional park touring then. On the 30th we want to watch the fireworks and the parade.

How would you plan your day?

 

[jnfr2424]

We're planning on one day at MK Dec 30th before going to visit family in northern Florida. We'll be back at WDW a week later and plan on doing more traditional park touring then. On the 30th we want to watch the fireworks and the parade.

How would you plan your day?

Been there done that - About to do it again!
Since you are coming back a week later I would just go to the park and people watch for the day. Its going to be crowded (park will probably close) and the wait times will be ridiculous unless you have FP. Pick a spot and enjoy the New Year's Eve rehearsal party

 

[Accident]

do as much as you can as early as you can because near 4pm it's going to quickly become shoulder to shoulder.

 

[Delirium]

Obviously, you'll want to make use of whatever FPs you can secure. After that, I would focus on attractions that often get skipped due to lack of time (Tom Sawyer Island, the Railroad, etc. You could also spend time capturing photos that you may not otherwise take the time to do.

 

[DWillowBay]

I'd do all the high volume rides (Carousel of Progress, People Mover, Carousel, Pirates, HM) and get those done, rather than wait for slow loads (Peter Pan, Pooh, Jungle Cruise...) because of the crowd size. Just me... Hope you have a great time.!

 

[otten]

Obviously, you'll want to make use of whatever FPs you can secure. After that, I would focus on attractions that often get skipped due to lack of time (Tom Sawyer Island, the Railroad, etc. You could also spend time capturing photos that you may not otherwise take the time to do.

Since we're only going that day I assume that the big ticket fastpasses will be gone by the time we can book them, which fastpasses should we try for?

 

[Anthony12345]

Dont try to do too much, partly because you wont get it done that time of year, and it will ruin your experience.

Just pick three big rides you all want to do-get fastpasses, then as mentioned above, do the high volume rides, or the less well known ones, such as Carousel of Progress, People Mover, Carousel, Pirates, Railroad etc. And then, just do some parades and walking around, perhaps reserve a meal somewhere?

 

[Delirium]

Since we're only going that day I assume that the big ticket fastpasses will be gone by the time we can book them, which fastpasses should we try for?

I'm not clear as to whether you will have the tickets in advance and be able to schedule FPs 30 days ahead of time, or whether you are buying them at the gate. Assuming worst case scenario that you are buying them at the gate, I think it's safe to say on a day that will be as busy as that one, you won't likely be able to get FPS for things like SDMT, Space Mountain, Peter Pan, or Splash Mountain. But, even that may depend on the size of your party.

I would list all of your attractions in priority order and see what you can get. You could be pleasantly surprised. Even if the only things left are rides like Small World, Dumbo, and Little Mermaid, those will be better than nothing, especially since you'll be returning shortly after that for a more official visit.

 

[otten]

I'm not clear as to whether you will have the tickets in advance and be able to schedule FPs 30 days ahead of time, or whether you are buying them at the gate. Assuming worst case scenario that you are buying them at the gate, I think it's safe to say on a day that will be as busy as that one, you won't likely be able to get FPS for things like SDMT, Space Mountain, Peter Pan, or Splash Mountain. But, even that may depend on the size of your party.

I would list all of your attractions in priority order and see what you can get. You could be pleasantly surprised. Even if the only things left are rides like Small World, Dumbo, and Little Mermaid, those will be better than nothing, especially since you'll be returning shortly after that for a more official visit.

We have pre-purchased 4 day tickets that we got with the Canadian Resident discount so we'll have 30 days.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I think, first, you must going in with the knowledge that it will be unbelievably crowded. Like, you can barely move or walk from place to place crowded. We went to MK on Dec. 29, 2015. Got there just after RD (tried to get there at RD, but the traffic was so bad, and we were on Disney transportation BTW, that it took us about 45 minutes to get from BWI to MK). By 10 am it was wall-to-wall people. As others have mentioned, we were able to do our 3 FP+ and that was about it. We did stand in line for Peoplemover (about 40 minutes) and my DS got his face painted in Tomorrowland because it was literally the only place we could find a seat and no crowd.

Are you planning on RD until park close? If so, I would just expect to be in big crowds waiting in long lines the entire time.

What I would do, personally (if you aren't going to attempt heavy park touring) is arrive about 1 1/2 hours before the parade, find a spot, schedule your 3 FP+ for after the parade, get a TS ADR somewhere in MK (QS locations will be completely mobbed), then find your spot for the fireworks. I would also consider splurging and reserving the MK fireworks dessert party with Plaza viewing if you can swing the cost. It's a great way to see the fireworks without a huge crowd.

 

[otten]

I think, first, you must going in with the knowledge that it will be unbelievably crowded. Like, you can barely move or walk from place to place crowded. We went to MK on Dec. 29, 2015. Got there just after RD (tried to get there at RD, but the traffic was so bad, and we were on Disney transportation BTW, that it took us about 45 minutes to get from BWI to MK). By 10 am it was wall-to-wall people. As others have mentioned, we were able to do our 3 FP+ and that was about it. We did stand in line for Peoplemover (about 40 minutes) and my DS got his face painted in Tomorrowland because it was literally the only place we could find a seat and no crowd.

Are you planning on RD until park close? If so, I would just expect to be in big crowds waiting in long lines the entire time.

What I would do, personally (if you aren't going to attempt heavy park touring) is arrive about 1 1/2 hours before the parade, find a spot, schedule your 3 FP+ for after the parade, get a TS ADR somewhere in MK (QS locations will be completely mobbed), then find your spot for the fireworks. I would also consider splurging and reserving the MK fireworks dessert party with Plaza viewing if you can swing the cost. It's a great way to see the fireworks without a huge crowd.

I have no expectations of getting any traditional park touring done. I really want to see the Christmas time parade and the "New Years" fireworks once and since we are going to be back the following week (Jan 6-10) this seems like a good way to do that since there's no pressure to do rides. That's a good point about making a dining reservation in the park.

 

[mousehockey37]

Without FP's, I'd imagine you aren't going to do too much.

I'd grab a seat and people watch.